Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to satellite communication systems and methods and, more particularly, to a system and method for efficient use of satellite communications capacity.
Introduction
Tracking mobile assets represents a growing enterprise as companies seek increased visibility into the status of a service fleet (e.g., long-haul delivery fleet). Visibility into the status of a service fleet can be gained through mobile terminals that are affixed to service vehicles. These mobile terminals can be designed to generate position information that can be used to update status reports that are provided to customer representatives.
In generating status reports to a centralized facility, the mobile terminal can generate position information through the reception of satellite position signals such as that generated by the GPS satellite network. Generated status reports are transmitted to the centralized facility using a return link via a communications satellite. Usage of the communications satellite comes at a significant cost. What is needed therefore is to ensure that usage of the communications satellite is efficient, thereby minimizing the overall communications cost.